Phenix

[Trout Daddy]

Impressed with the performance not so impressed with the durability. 200 dollar rods shouldnt snap at the guides with a big fish on the line :Shocked: Guess off to the warehouse for a warranty replacement......

[youngfish]

I am on just about the same page as you... But more of an issue with quality control. I got an elixir as a gift from my aunt that lives in indiana who knows nothing about fishing(she saw it in my favorites on my computer and decided to buy it for me, awesome right?) and when I finally had a chance to look at it, the top 3 guides are wrapped in a way that has them about 1/16th inch offset from the rest. I don't have the receipt for it since my aunt was only here for vacation, so I couldn't take it back to the shop she got it from. Phenix reluctantly said they would exchange it when i first contacted them last week, but setting up a time to go in is becoming a hassle. Everytime I talk to someone down there they give me a day to call and come in, but when i call they give me another day. Sorry for the rant in your thread, just needed to get that off my chest.

[IncredibleHuck]

Impressed with the performance not so impressed with the durability. 200 dollar rods shouldnt snap at the guides with a big fish on the line :Shocked: Guess off to the warehouse for a warranty replacement......

Which guides did it snap on?

[socal114]

Impressed with the performance not so impressed with the durability. 200 dollar rods shouldnt snap at the guides with a big fish on the line :Shocked: Guess off to the warehouse for a warranty replacement......
Which model do you have?

[Trout Daddy]

3rd one down from the top, elixir 7'6" split grip

[the killa fish taco]

I just broke an 8ft Elixer at the same spot last week... Right in between the 3rd and 4th guide. Went to the Fred Hall Show with it and they switched it out on the spot for $50...

I'm sure they will make things right with you.

[Trout Daddy]

Now to find the time and money to get it replaced.......

[the killa fish taco]

Yeah, the extra money part kinda sucks to replace it.

[Marley]

Charging someone $50 to fix a quality problem is NOT making things right with you. I have two Phenix rods that broke, one of them on the first fish. A third, an Elixir and admitedly a fish-killer, has a hook holder that is set at a 90 degree angle to spline, causing the line to catch on it and jerk the bait off the hook on about 40% of the casts. Given the fact that the rod itself has not broken I consider myself lucky and do not want to exchange the rod for a different one.
You would think (hope) that the quality of these things would be commensurate with their price, and that the manufacturer woudl back that up further with a no-charge replacement ESPECIALLY considering the high number of complaints people apparently have with them.

[the killa fish taco]

how do you think i felt when i broke my iron feather... OUCH!!!!

[Marley]

how do you think i felt when i broke my iron feather... OUCH!!!!

That sucks, those feel like nice rods.
My two favorite trout rods combined cost less than $100. I have owned a 5' 6" Ugly Stick Light for over 25 years and fish it every time I go out. Biggest trout to-date it 12.7, and it has an 8.0 channel cat to tis credit, along with I-can't-remember-how-many 5-plus pound trout. The other is a Daiwa Spinmatic I bought at Culver's in Bishop. $45 for the Daiwa, $30 for the Ugly Stick.

[tomah]

do you guys think it might be your fishing technique? im not dogging on you guys at all, in all honestly, im wondering if it might be technique that is snapping the rods. are you guys high-sticking?

[tomah]

i have an ultra-mbx 6-14lb that i am worrying about breaking from high-sticking myself.

[the killa fish taco]

do you guys think it might be your fishing technique? im not dogging on you guys at all, in all honestly, im wondering if it might be technique that is snapping the rods. are you guys high-sticking?

Dont think its the technique. Well i hope its not... It is proven that EVERYONE is breaking the Iron Feathers at the same spots. As for the Elixer this is rare...

[tomah]

oh ok cool. i was just wondering. trying to make sure nobody is swinging like Mike Iaconelli with those iron feather rods lol

[exfactor]

could be they were busy with the Hall show is why they're dogging you. Even Loomis has a 50 or 100 dollar replacement cost. And, it's soooooooo easy to nick a rod in transport that you don't notice, and have this happen. Especially with the small diameter blanks.

[the killa fish taco]

could be they were busy with the Hall show is why they're dogging you. Even Loomis has a 50 or 100 dollar replacement cost. And, it's soooooooo easy to nick a rod in transport that you don't notice, and have this happen. Especially with the small diameter blanks.

who is this too?

[Fysher]

A couple of my buddies snapped their elixir as well. What I heard a while back probably a year ago, is that the phenix blanks are coming from China, so if this is true, that could be one of the reason why the rods are snapping.

China = Quantity over quality.

I fish with a UL Rapala 2-6lb 7ft rod and do well with it. I paid $20 for the rod

[the killa fish taco]

Phenix makes some of the best rods around (saltwater and freshwater) in my opinion.

[billy b]

Sounds like a quality of manufacturing issue to me. I bought a 7'6" Mirage that isn't any longer than my 7 foot GLooms ... unless you count the extra length in the butt handle ... which actually gets in the way for me. Kinda feels like misrepresentation to me on the length. Should have stayed with the GLoom ... but their new rod wasn't out yet.

Best of luck to y'all

[Trout Daddy]

Like I said in the original post, I really enjoyed fishing the rod, the durability is the dissapointment. I will be looking forward to getting back on the water when I get the money and time to replace it. Until than the Cherrywood is back in service.....

[Marley]

do you guys think it might be your fishing technique? im not dogging on you guys at all, in all honestly, im wondering if it might be technique that is snapping the rods. are you guys high-sticking?

No high-sticking. I fish 8 foot rods for tuna so that 40 degree angle is burned in.

[Marley]

A couple of my buddies snapped their elixir as well. What I heard a while back probably a year ago, is that the phenix blanks are coming from China, so if this is true, that could be one of the reason why the rods are snapping.

China = Quantity over quality.

I fish with a UL Rapala 2-6lb 7ft rod and do well with it. I paid $20 for the rod

I was told that my Elixir was built on an Orvis fly rod blank which, if true, makes sense because if I'm not mistaken, Orvis are American-made rods.

[Marley]

Phenix makes some of the best rods around (saltwater and freshwater) in my opinion.

Sounds kinda like they're not holding up to the acid test very well...

[tomah]

No high-sticking. I fish 8 foot rods for tuna so that 40 degree angle is burned in.

oh i meant that more for the really light tackle. my black diamonds i dont worry about. its my freshie gear that i do.

[tailchaser001]

could be they were busy with the Hall show is why they're dogging you. Even Loomis has a 50 or 100 dollar replacement cost. And, it's soooooooo easy to nick a rod in transport that you don't notice, and have this happen. Especially with the small diameter blanks.


Loomis will not charge you if the rod is a defect in craftsmanship or it happens to break under fishing conditions. Send it in for warranty and your done. The $100 charge is the Xpeditor service. That is not the actual warranty and that is why there's a charge. It's a service. If the rod gets broken outside of warranty parameters then you have the Xpeditor option. They way your not stuck.

You are correct about the nicks. Graphites are gentle and it doesn't take much. Most of the time these nicks are not visible to the eye and will snap at some point. However, it this case there seems to be a pattern.

[tomah]

Those fisherman that go elsewhere to have their rods repaired or wrapped are the real losers because Bob Barr eliminates the tackle shop and middleman by doing all the custom craftsmanship in the comfort of his workshop, thus saving you money as he did for me.

i wouldnt say that the other rod wrappers are losers. the guy that wraps my me, my gf and her brothers rods is amazing and he doesnt charge us very much either. he must have wrapped 20+ for us.

[Marley]

Wow, 14 posts. Welcome to the fray, thanks for the spam and flame and apparently, good bye.

[WHAMMY]

I have 10 phenix rods from bass rods to heavy long range rods and havent had a single problem with their rods or components. Might be a trout thing, but their freshwater bass, saltwater bass, and saltwater rods in general all bullet proof, esp the way I fish these thing

[IncredibleHuck]

Wow, 14 posts. Welcome to the fray, thanks for the spam and flame and apparently, good bye.

Exactly....

[Trout 1]

Wow! One comment about SPAM and you go off.... We never said anything about him. Just calm down.... But if that was your last comment, where you copied and replied to five different threads, so be it.... Adios!

Yeah man im confused lol!!!!

[Bebop]

We are professional fishermen and we dont need to step on any tackle shop or other wrappers toes. please gentlemen stop the complaining and enjoy the fishing wether you have a twenty dollar rod or a six hundred dollar rod. I am not perfect and I respect every rod builder available. This site is for experiences not rude remarks.

[Trout Daddy]

Well finally made it down to Phenix yesterday and they stood by their product. Glad to see and now I have another rod to get out with. The reel seat is different on the newer model, apparatnely the nice stainless one with the phenix logo I had on my other one is not friendly to reels other than shimano so they changed it up to a burl wood fuji reel seat. It is a bit lighter and fishes just as well.........

[Gator]

Good to hear Trout Daddy!
I just bought an elixir verry happy with it!
And a Classic MBX. Good to know they stand behind there product!

[WormFisher]

I had an old Phenix that I purchased a few years ago. I was fishing with a friend who told me about their upgrade program. I went down there and took my old TR-1 Boron rod. The guys there were really cool and helped me select another one. I bought a MBX spinning rod. It's a great rod and they really make a good product (the wood burl ir pretty cool BTW).
If you have a older Phenix that will qualify for the program I would recommend you try the upgrade program out.

[DarkShadow]

I bought a MBX spinning rod. It's a great rod and they really make a good product (the wood burl ir pretty cool BTW).
If you have a older Phenix that will qualify for the program I would recommend you try the upgrade program out.

Hmm....weren't you selling that older Phenix at a killer price?

So that means somebody could've bought an MBX for the price you were giving that Phenix for?

Awesome...u should've gotten a casting rod and then sold it to someone, like you know, me?

[AngryAgent]

Loomis will not charge you if the rod is a defect in craftsmanship or it happens to break under fishing conditions. Send it in for warranty and your done. The $100 charge is the Xpeditor service. That is not the actual warranty and that is why there's a charge. It's a service. If the rod gets broken outside of warranty parameters then you have the Xpeditor option. They way your not stuck.

You are correct about the nicks. Graphites are gentle and it doesn't take much. Most of the time these nicks are not visible to the eye and will snap at some point. However, it this case there seems to be a pattern.

This isn't true..

G-Loomis charges $60.00 for a replacement rod if you bring it back broken on anything up to a GLX or $100.00 for the NRX but you have to bring in your card that you get when you buy one new and you only get one replacement. I repeat if you break a rod while fishing with it you're going to pay the $60.00 or $100.00 dollar fee period.

[DarkShadow]

... repeat if you break a rod while fishing with it you're going to pay the $60.00 or $100.00 dollar fee period.

Hmm...their website states:

"For Damage determined to have occurred due to defect, GLoomis will, at the company's discretion, either repair or replace the product at no charge."

http://www.gloomis.com/publish/content/gloomis_2010/us/en/conventional/support.html

[WormFisher]

DarkShadow







Originally Posted by WormFisher

I bought a MBX spinning rod. It's a great rod and they really make a good product (the wood burl ir pretty cool BTW).
If you have a older Phenix that will qualify for the program I would recommend you try the upgrade program out.
Hmm....weren't you selling that older Phenix at a killer price?

So that means somebody could've bought an MBX for the price you were giving that Phenix for?

Awesome...u should've gotten a casting rod and then sold it to someone, like you know, me?

Yeah it was a good deal. I paid $175.00 for the Boron when I bought it at least 10 years ago. I paid $135.00 for the MBX.

The casting MBX rods are sweet. If I had another Phenix I would get one. It's to good of a deal to pass up on a quality rod and a good way to get an updated rod.